Anyone who regularly drives along County Road 4 in or out of Bradford will soon need to find a new route.
In addition to recently posted signs, the County of Simcoe sent out a notice on Oct. 16 warning residents of an upcoming seven-week road closure on County Road 4 (Yonge Street) from Oct. 21 to Dec. 13 for the replacement of the Scanlon Creek culvert that runs under the road at the intersection with Line 10.
“While we understand that road construction provides short-term inconvenience for residents and businesses, we work to minimize the impacts as much as possible,” Julie Scruton, manager of transportation construction for the county, said in an email. “We appreciate the patience and understanding of our road users, businesses and the neighbourhood.”
While access to Line 10 east of County Road 4 will be maintained south of the intersection, through traffic will be prohibited and instead detoured using Line 8, Sideroad 10 and County Road 89.
That route was chosen in consultation with town staff to make use of existing traffic signals and minimize the risk from increased left turns, according to a report from Claire Walker, project engineer, to county council on Oct. 8.
She added county staff have committed to monitor traffic during the closure and adjust traffic-signal timing at the affected intersections if necessary.
Still, Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu expressed concern over the “huge traffic burden” that would be placed on town roads as a result of the closure, during the regular meeting of Bradford council on Oct. 15.
“It is going to impact our residents quite heavily,” Mayor James Leduc agreed.
As of 2022, the county estimated about 16,700 vehicles travel that stretch of road every day, and while the current volume is likely higher, counts are performed every three years, meaning updated numbers won’t be available until next year.
As a bit of a silver lining, Scruton explained traffic volume in this section is statistically six-per-cent lower in the fall months than in the summer.
In the release, the county also notes that Bradford Greenhouses will remain open for business during the construction period and can be accessed from Line 12 or Yonge Street, south of County Road 89.
The work is part of the first of three phases in the county’s project to widen County Road 4 to four lanes from two over about 10 kilometres from north of Line 8 in Bradford to County Road 89 in Innisfil.
According to the county’s project page, Phase 1 includes the section from about 290 metres south of Line 9 to about 700 metres north of Line 10 and is also set to include permanent signalization, turn lanes at Line 9, the culvert replacement at Line 10, construction of an active transportation multi-use trail, as well as drainage and roadside safety enhancements.
That’s expected to align with similar widening from Ontario's Ministry of Transportation which is being undertaken as part of the early works for the Bradford Bypass.
“(County Road) 4 is one of the county’s largest road investments to date, as we work to build up our infrastructure across Simcoe County,” Scruton said. “Long-term, the significant upgrades to (County Road) 4 will allow for improved traffic flow, growth and enhanced connections to other major transportation routes.”
Work on the culvert replacement was initially anticipated to begin as early as July according to a Nov. 21, 2023 report from Peter Loukes, Bradford’s then-director of development and engineering. That’s one of the reasons the town worked to get Line 8 and part of Sideroad 10 reinforced and resurfaced this spring.
However, the county had to push back work on the culvert due to unanticipated delays with multiple utility relocations, according to Scruton, who explained Oct. 21 is now the earliest the contractor can begin work.
“The project will still be executed within our annual, budgeted timeline,” she said.
The county awarded the $17.4-million contract for widening and reconstruction of Phase 1 to Georgian Paving on Sept. 24 and, according to Walker’s report, the contract includes penalties of $25,000 per day if the contractor fails to reopen the road after the seven-week closure.
She also explained that due to timing restrictions for coldwater fisheries, work is expected to shut down for the winter after Dec. 13 and resume in the spring with an expected completion in December 2025.
A full road closure was chosen for the culvert replacement to be both safer and reduce construction costs by about 25 per cent by eliminating traffic control and shoring required for staged construction, according to Walker’s report.
